A Baylor University anthropologists studies of behavior and attitudes associated with COVID-19 have helped inform doctors and continue to provide insights into the dynamics of how people in McLennan County responded to the disease during the first two years of the pandemic.

We have another paper getting close to publication right now, Baylor anthropology professor Michael Muehlenbein said Friday. This one is on the way peoples political leanings affect their behaviors associated with the disease.

Some of the results are more surprising that others, he said.

While people who lean Democrat are more likely to wear a mask in public than those who lean Republican, no surprise there, our surveys revealed that Republicans in McLennan County were not less likely than Democrats to receive a COVID vaccine, Muehlenbein said. That might surprise some people.

People are also reading

Muehlenbeins publications have provided much needed insight into the experiences of members of the community, said Dr. Zach Sartor, a physician with Waco Family Medicine.

Any publication that helps us provide care in a more informed manner is incredibly useful, Sartor said.

Sartor said he and his colleagues gained understanding of the trends of what people were going through by taking in Muehlenbeins work and publications, helping them effectively tailor the care, counseling and recommendations they provided to patients.

In the early weeks of the public health emergency during March and April of 2020 Muehlenbein and his colleagues began to study how the disease was transmitted among children and anyone who had no symptoms.

By June 2020 his team knew other organizations had larger studies going on that would develop more conclusive understanding of the two problems he started looking at, he said. But he had a study group of 495 people willing to provide survey information on their attitudes, thoughts and behaviors associated with the disease.

The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation and the Cooper Foundation funded the survey effort, known as the Waco COVID Survey, that Muehlenbein led with a team of graduate and undergraduate students working in partnership with Waco Family Medicine and the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District, according to a Baylor press release.

Our group of study subjects were self-selected, in that they came to us, Muehlenbein said.

He said the group does not represent a statistically valid random sample of the general population, so the data provides insight into how particular beliefs or practices affect response to the virus health risks, but he did not want to generalize conclusions beyond certain groups in McLennan County.

Some of the participants worked in health care or were first responders with high risk of exposure. Others worked in restaurants and other essential services, slightly lower risk of exposure, according to the statement. Still others followed stay home, stay safe guidelines scrupulously.

Muehlenbein said the surveys uncovered what he called unrealistic optimism among study participants.

Even among older men of color, with complicating chronic health conditions, some of the highest risk populations for severe disease we have in the county, we found that individuals felt less likely than others to develop the disease, Muehlenbein said. And if they were to develop COVID, they thought they would recover more easily than others.

The survey answers also validate what Muehlenbein called pandemic fatigue.

We found that as the pandemic wore on, people wanted to go without masks and return to life as normal, he said. We started to see this soon after the vaccines were introduced.

While the national public health emergency for the pandemic ended Thursday, Muehlenbein said he still sees people who test positive for COVID-19 without symptoms.

I had a student come into my office yesterday wearing a mask because of a possible exposure and I got an email today informing that the student tested positive, Muehlenbein said. This virus mutates readily and spreads easily. Its going to be with us for a while, and weve got to adapt.

The survey found that participants who reported wearing a mask in public more often were less likely to test positive, and that 75% of participants who tested positive were unvaccinated at the time of their infection, according to the Baylor press release.

The World Health Organization tracking chart for new cases reported around the globe shows some of the lowest totals since the virus emerged. Likewise, the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District COVID-19 data site shows four people locally were hospitalized with COVID-19 on May 1, then no day with more than two since. Last month saw two days when nine were hospitalized locally. The most recent days with 10 or more arrived in March.

Local health district data also show 64 new cases so far this month, with 38 in the seven days through Friday, and 231 new cases for all of last month. New case and hospitalization numbers in the county also are trending among the lowest since the virus emerged.

The health district has reported 23 deaths of McLennan County residents because of COVID-19 so far this year, with two last month.

The federal public health emergency for the pandemic expiring Thursday notwithstanding, COVID-19 remains a threat, said Dr. Marc Elieson, director of inpatient medicine at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center.

COVID still exists. Its highly transmissible, and vaccines still provide protection, Elieson said.

Elieson said he recently oversaw treatment for a COVID-19 patient who died.

Most of the patients we see checked in for COVID are old and frail and have one or two or more chronic health conditions as well, Elieson said of his recent experience at Hillcrest. Usually COVID has worn them down and they have stopped eating and drinking and become dehydrated. Most of the time we can turn them around quickly, but not always.

The dominant strain of the virus right now, an omicron subvariant designated XBB1.5, continues to be highly transmissible and produce a relatively mild form of the disease, much like the original omicron variant that caused a surge of cases months ago, Sartor said.

Things are looking good right now, but things can also change, Sartor said.

He encourages his patients to stay informed on what is going on with local and national trends in COVID-19 and respond by taking measures recommended by medical professionals.

For my patients who may travel this summer, I say to stay home if theyre sick, whether they have COVID or something else, Sartor said. And I always recommend washing hands often or using hand sanitizer. This and covering sneezes will prevent the spread of COVID and many diseases.

Sartor also continues to encourage everyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and to get a booster as they become eligible, he said.

Just because you may have had COVID and recovered twice in the last year doesnt mean your bodys immune system is prepared to fight a newly mutated variant, Sartor said.

The current dominant subvariant XBB1.5 was not the dominant strain five months ago, and 12 months ago it did not exist, Elieson said.

Now were seeing XBB1.6, XBB1.16 and XBB1.19. The virus continues to evolve and mutate, Elieson said. This is why people should get the updated vaccine.

Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.

Continued here:

Baylor University research sheds light on Waco-area behavior ... - Waco Tribune-Herald